…………………………………………………

Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing Game Review

Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is a 2010 kart racing video game published by Sega for multiple platforms. It is one of the better and most underrated kart racers out there.

………………………………………………….

“That’s it for now, but be sure to keep your windshields

peeled for more crazy racing action soon!“

…………………………………………………..

This games spawned a trilogy of racers that did for Sega what Mario Kart did for Nintendo. It is a shame that it is often compared negatively to the latter franchise when in reality this is a great series in its own right. When it comes to this first installment, it is most definitely better than the troublesome ‘Team Sonic Racing’, but it fares weaker when compared with its stronger immediate successor.

This is a mascot racing game, which means that players can choose one out of twenty playable characters with each hailing from a Sega game or franchise. Some of these are iconic, but a couple of them are lesser-known, which made for an eclectic mix that really worked. Yes, it has a smaller roster than its sequel, but what we got here was still terrific with the highlights being of course my boy Tails, speedy Sonic himself and the cute Opa-Opa. There is less difference in skills and customization between the characters here than in the sequels, but the stellar groundwork was still laid in this important original game.

The power-ups are okay here, but clearly they will be better in the next installment. The items here were very well utilized within the game mechanics, but they needed more variety and originality nonetheless as they were too basic. The All-Star item was certainly the best and most powerful of the bunch as it can significantly improve your positioning if you are quite behind in the track. The boosting and drifting mechanic worked superbly from the very beginning with the drifting leading to additional boosting being the most impressively realized mechanic.

…………………………………………………..

Vehicles range from cars to bikes to hovercraft with that third one being hardest to control, but all three are well realized nonetheless. All three have their different specifics, which make them unique. There are four modes. Grand Prix is very fun, but it was mostly too easy to beat for me. a harder difficulty would have made it extra entertaining. Time Trials are self-explanatory, Single Race is just there for a quick play and Missions are the most interesting part as always for me as a single player.

The missions here are quite varied and they were so much fun to go through. They aren’t as difficult as those from the sequel, but a couple of them did make me sweat, including that insane final mission where you have to destroy a robot within a time limit. The timed missions are as always quite demanding and almost infuriating. The cups are the most interesting ones as you can in reality butcher one track, but excel at others and still win.

The knockout stages were by far the best ones as you knock out players by placing above them until you are the last one remaining. It’s a great concept that really worked. Driving through gates was also well realized and all those missions where you have to score a certain amount of points were also excellent.

…………………………………………………..

The game has only twelve tracks in total that span a couple of franchises. This made it less diverse than its sequel, but at least most of the tracks are phenomenal. The highlights for me are the visually sumptuous Rogue’s Landing, the charmingly cozy Chilly Castle and the unforgettable Samba Studios that features a great Latin-flavored soundtrack and colorful visuals.

Speaking of the visuals, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is incredible. This is one of the better-looking games from its period and an underappreciated one for that matter. It is still polished and good-looking even after over a decade. The characters are very well designed and the tracks are colorful and meticulously detailed with some amazing background activities going on at all times. The movements are also superbly realized and unlike ‘Team Sonic Racing’ the speed here is definitely felt in all of its thrill, which made the game super engaging to play.

The soundtrack is also fantastic. All of the themes from the franchises used here are brought back and the results is an eclectic mish-mash of different styles. The tunes range from pop to rock to Latin to ambient music, all being excellent. The sound is impeccable as well. Another big plus is that there is no story and very little voice acting here, which made the game more enjoyable throughout. It’s delightfully matter of fact in its execution.

…………………………………………………..

I 100% completed the game at just around 28 hours, which certainly isn’t a lot. It’s a short game for sure, but at least it is endlessly replayable if you play it in multiplayer mode. Playing this game I felt a great sense of speed and achievement upon each successfully finished mission. I just wish that it had more of those missions and more different modes, but otherwise it was a terrific start to this very underrated gem of a franchise.